Moon Child

13. The Lunar Effect

By the time I got home, thanks to a ride from Mya, half of the confidence had worn off, I was still riding the high of the day's events. I knew that exposing Sophia wouldn't force Liam to acknowledge me, but whoever said you shouldn't take an eye for an eye, forgot to mention how great it felt. My grandparents weren't home yet. They were out doing errands or something based on the note they left me on the kitchen counter. I sighed and shrugged my jacket off before going to find something to snack on.

"Looks like your return went well," Aria said as she appeared out of nowhere, sitting on the kitchen stool. It made me jump and I damn near dropped the bowl I was holding. I found some leftover vegetable soup to warm up and popped it in the microwave.

"You could say that," I said as I finally turned to face her as I leaned against the counter. I couldn't help the wide smile on my face.

"What did you do to me yesterday?" I asked. She smirked.

"I told you, it was just a bit of a confidence boost. We're connected, Daniella," she said.

"You never really elaborated the how," I noted. She sighed and rested her chin on the palm of her hand as I pulled my soup from the microwave carefully.

"You're like... my Earthly being. You are your own person and all, and you live like every other wolf, but there are perks. You have a direct line to my powers... all of them; seeing the future, sensing danger future and current, strength with your wolf, seeing people's true intentions and memories, healing people and things, blah, blah, blah, and you're nearly invisible. You can still be killed, but it's more difficult. You have a direct line to me. If you call me, I'll hear you first and come if you really need it. I'm an extra power source for you, which you might need during a full moon because that's when you're most vulnerable. Try not to do too much during new moons. It'll drain the shit out of you. It's when you're the weakest. It's the whole reason you passed out last time. Great timing with that, by the way," she said sarcastically as I grabbed a spoon and began eating as I listened.

"Why does a new moon weaken me?" I asked, before testing the next spoonful I had raised to my lips.

"Well, the moon is your main source of energy. I'm not actually a human or wolf so I'm not bound by the Earth. I get the moon's full powers all the time, but you have to be more careful. A new moon has the power to make you as weak as any other wolf for that day, and only a day. You have other sources to pull energy from, but you have to make more of an effort to do so. On the other hand, a full moon can triple your strength and power," she explained as I slurped on my soup.

"So how do I turn the... 'lunar thingy' off like you did for me today?" I asked. She shrugged. 

"The lunar effect can easily be blocked by setting up a blocker. You're basically blocking your receivers, per say. If you can shield your thoughts, you can block everyone else out. Practice, now," she said, pulling my bowl away from me. I sighed and swallowed the last spoonful I took before I did as she asked. I concentrated on blocking her. She studied my face for a moment before she chuckled.

"You have no idea what you're doing, do you?" she asked. I shook my head. "You're focusing on me, focus on yourself. Try to put up an invisible wall around your mind brick by brick for the time being. The more you practice, the easier it'll get over time until you don't even have to think about it anymore. You'll still be able to vibe people's feelings with the blocker, but their thoughts won't intrude upon yours," she instructed. I imagines bricks being set up around my mind in a dome form brick by brick. It was hard to hold on to the image, but I tried to focus on it and put everything else out of my mind. It took a lot of effort and I was mentally exhausted after the ordeal. But Aria just smiled.